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intrd ftatct @anni @titille GILBERT HAWKES, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS'.

Letters Patent No. 91,844, dated .Tune 29, 1869.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part: of thesame.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, GILBERT HAWKES, of the city of Lynn, county ofEssert, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in the `liIanufacture of Boots and Shoes; and I do herebydeclare that the' following is a full and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereupon.

lhe nature of my invention consists in the preparation and adaptation oftextile fabrics to the manufacture of boots `and shoes, so that, undercertain conditions, this product may suppl y the place of sole-leather,-rendering the boot or shoe more easy and flexible, so that, when made,it would minister to the comfort and convenience of invalids, or ofpersons whose feet are tender, diseased, orwounded, as Well as to thosein good health, and at the same time t0 impart sufficient stiffness andfirmness to the various portions of the boot or shoe as .may be deemeddesirable and expedient.

I am not aware that textile material has ever before been used for thepurposes above mentioned.

`To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe it.

. I take, of the tibrous material or fabric, such a quality that isadapted to receive and retain, by saturation, any widening-substancethat may be applied to the salue, and by firmly agglutinating the massofV iibres, will render the same durable and elastic at the l same time.

lhis process of stiffening maybe produced by resinons, gelatinous, orother analogous substances, to the fabric, with well-known admixtures,that will make the same water-proof.

AfterI the fabric is in this way prepared, a sufficient numberof layersof this fabric can beglued, cemented, or otherwise pnt together, to formthe outer or inner soles of the boots or shoes, the stiienings for theheel, or such other portions of the same as may be desired.

The soles, when thus prepared, are then applied to the uppers of theboots or shoes, made in the usual form, by sewing or pegging.

In the drawings- Figurel represents the sole and heel of a shoe,constructed of the material describedV as my invention, and v Y Figure 2shows a rloss-section of the heel, and the different layers usedtherein.

A is the sole of the shoe;

- B, the heel; and

a a c represent the pegs used in attaching the' heel to the shoe.

This stiifcning mayor may not be made waterproof, as desired, and onlyone thickness of the stiffened fibrous material may be used in suchparts of the shoe to which the same may be adapted.

Having thus described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, `is-` Asanarticle of manufacture, a shoe, t-he sole and heel of which is of atextile fabric, when stiffened and applied in the manner and for thepurpose herein described.

GILBERT HAWKES# Witnesses:

NATHAN CLARK, HORACE CLARK.

